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Ecology
'Overview' World temperatures have risen 2 °C since 2014. The Northwest Passage has opened. As a consequence of increased atmospheric moisture and energy, hurricanes and tropical storms are an increasingly common occurrence. Despite most regions experiencing much more rain, ‘run-away climate change’ has also led to massive droughts. The failure of the Ogallala aquifer has led to the reemergence of the American dustbowl. Drought in the Mediterranean basin, Iberia and Southern Africa, and Oceana has led to crop failures, starvation, and forced migrations by displaced populations. Global climate changes has not only affected the map of the earth and the way humans live, it has also affected its flaura and fauna. By twenty-fifty, over 15% of the worlds plants and animals existing in 2010 had gone extinct or were committed to doing so. By 2092 extinction rates were slowing considerably but had already reached over 25%. The massive loss of biodiversity, especially in the world’s oceans has greatly affected the ecosystems with the loss of one animal species leading to the loss of several others dependent upon that first species. Fisheries in particular have been hit hard and coral reefs are all but extinct (and would be if it wasn’t for the actions of the Puszcza Wynd). Species thought to have gone extinct include all species of gorillas, all species of hippopotamus, all species of tiger, Javan, black, and northern white rhinos, several sea turtle species, Asian elephants, Bactrian camels, Ethiopian wolves, Iberian lynx, axolotls, Philippine eagle, California condor, Chinese alligators, the blue whale, narwhals, Asian elephants, giant pandas, snow leopards, Bornean orangutan, Tasmanian devils, and many, many more. 'Geoscale Engineering' 'Carbon Sequestration- 'Kudzu4' Pusczca Wynd’s Kudzu4, gengineered to sequester and retain carbon, to improve soil quality, and to provide albedo, all while requiring minimal water or supplemental nutrition, while no doubt an invasive weed that outcompetes and endangers a wide variety of native species throughout the world, has been very successful. During the 2070s and 80s Consensus licensed Pusczca Wynd’s Kudzu4 and distributed its rights liberally. Totally the plant is common throughout the world, especially in urban areas where its vines crawl upon and over buildings and provide significant local atmospheric filtration. 'Carbon Sequestration at Sea- 'Kudzu-Morze4' At sea, Kudzu-Morze3 provides similar carbon filtration on a larger scale. Oceanic exploration has revealed layer and layers of rotting vines in the deep, millions of tons of carbon sequestered from the atmosphere- hopefully for centuries. 'Enhancement of Low-Altitude Maritime Clouds by Automated Oceanic Fleet' Another Puszcza Wynd geoscale engineering project, one thousand five-hundred automated oceanic ships that pump water into the atmosphere, also now run by the Consensus, directly increase atmospheric moisture over the oceans. Increasing cloud droplet concentration leads directly to local increases in albedo. By deflecting the sun, these ships have a net cooling temperatures on the globe. 'Void airship Stratospheric Sulfate Aerosol Dispersion' A effort initiated by Pambazuka, this geoscale engineering project is based on the Puszcza Wynd oceanic fleet but in this case involves thousands of automated solar-powered void-aircraft who dispense sulfate aerosols in the stratosphere. While this causes local increases in acid precipitation, it also reflects a not insignificant portion of the sun's light out of atmosphere, increasing albedo and reducing global warming. While initiated by Pambazuka, the void ship sulfate dispersion program is operated today by the Consensus.